On Friday 6th March, Dance City welcomes back The Monocle, an immersive dance-theatre performance by Rendez-Vous Dance, drawing audiences into the hidden world of ‘Le Monocle’, a defiant lesbian nightclub in 1930s Paris.
At first glance, The Monocle feels like a lavish step back in time: jazz-soaked, playful and full of flirtation. Yet beneath the glamour lies something far more profound. Conceived and choreographed by Mathieu Geffré, the production celebrates a space born out of necessity – a place of safe expression and community, stifled in a world that sought to silence it.
Through vibrant choreography and live vocals, the performers bring to life the joy, secrecy and solidarity that defined the club. But this is more than a historical portrait. The Monocle resonates today, reflecting the ongoing need for safe spaces, chosen communities and visible defiance, as many continue to navigate discrimination and threat, albeit in different forms.
Laughter, desire and togetherness become acts of quiet rebellion, then and now, reminding us that visibility matters, and that dancefloors have always been places where freedom and expression can briefly – but beautifully – exist.
Sensual, celebratory and deeply human, The Monocle delivers nostalgia while recognising how far we’ve come and how much still needs protecting.
This is a performance that speaks as powerfully today as it ever has.
Tickets, priced at £15.00 in advance, are available at dancecity.co.uk.
